brain

(brān)

n.

1.

a. The portion of the vertebrate central nervous system that is enclosed within the cranium, continuous with the spinal cord, and composed of gray matter and white matter. It is the primary center for the regulation and control of bodily activities, receiving and interpreting sensory impulses, and transmitting information to the muscles and body organs. It is also the seat of consciousness, thought, memory, and emotion.

b. A functionally similar portion of the invertebrate nervous system.

2.

a. Intellectual ability; intellect: an actor not known for his quick brain.

b. often brains Exceptional intellectual ability; intelligence: has brains and good looks.

c. Informal A highly intelligent person: We knew the new kid was a brain as soon as she started talking.

3. often brains The primary director or planner, as of an organization or movement.

4. The control center, as of a ship, aircraft, or spacecraft.

tr.v.brained, brain·ing, brains

To hit on the head or kill by hitting on the head.

Idioms:

beat (one's) brains (out)

Informal To exert or expend great mental effort: She beat her brains out during the examination.

on the brain

Obsessively in mind: The coach has winning on the brain.

pick (someone's) brain/brains

To explore another's ideas through questioning.

rack (one's) brainInformal

To think long and hard: I racked my brain for hours trying to recall her name.

[Middle English, from Old English brægen.]

brain

(breɪn)

n

1. (Anatomy) the soft convoluted mass of nervous tissue within the skull of vertebrates that is the controlling and coordinating centre of the nervous system and the seat of thought, memory, and emotion. It includes the cerebrum, brainstem, and cerebellum. Technical name: encephalon

2. (Zoology) the main neural bundle or ganglion of certain invertebrates

3. (often plural) informal intellectual ability: he's got brains.

4. informal shrewdness or cunning

5. informal an intellectual or intelligent person

6. (usually plural; functioning as singular) informal a person who plans and organizes an undertaking or is in overall control of an organization, etc

7. an electronic device, such as a computer, that performs apparently similar functions to the human brain

brain

(breɪn) n.

1. the anterior part of the central nervous system enclosed in the cranium of vertebrates, consisting of a mass of nerve tissue organized for the perception of sensory impulses, the regulation of motor impulses, and the production of memory, learning, and consciousness.

2. (in many invertebrates) a part of the nervous system comparable to the brain of vertebrates.

brain

(brān)

1. The part of the nervous system in vertebrates that is enclosed within the skull, is connected with the spinal cord, and is composed of gray matter and white matter. It receives and interprets impulses from sense organs, and it coordinates and controls body functions and activities, such as walking and talking. The brain is also the center of memory, thought, and feeling.

2. A bundle of nerves in many invertebrate animals that is similar to the vertebrate brain in function and position.

Did You Know? At this very moment, these words are being scanned and interpreted by perhaps the most complex object in the world: the human brain. The bulbous organ that sits right behind your forehead is a collection of different parts that work together. For example, the two sides of the brain, called hemispheres, perform different tasks. The right hemisphere is responsible for musical and artistic ability and the ability to recognize faces. The left is where mathematical and logical analysis takes place, as well as most speech and language processing. Furthermore, each hemisphere is divided into four separate regions called lobes, which have their own jobs. Here's how specific the responsibilities of a particular brain area can be: in 2001 researchers discovered that there's a definite part of the brain (the medial ventral prefrontal cortex) where you make the connection that we call "getting" a joke. Got it?

The authors of the study suggest that vitamin D3 may be of clinical importance in the restoration of dysfunctional cardiac endothelium after heart attack, capillary endothelium after brain ischemia (stroke), hypovolemia, vasculopathy, diabetes and atherosclerosis.

15) reported that Clostridium butyricum pretreatment was able to reduce cerebral ischemia injury via suppressing the apoptosis and amplification of antioxidant enzyme activity in a global model of brain ischemia in mice.

Important differential diagnoses of cervicocephalic arterial dissection include other vascular or neurological causes of the head and neck pain and/or local neurological syndromes (such as subarachnoid hemorrhage, migraine, and cluster headache) and other causes of brain ischemia such as cardiac emboli, atherosclerosis, and vasculopathy of brain vessels (14).

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